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[Chrysander 'C.R.' Young]

Thanks, everyone.  I think I have the info I need now.  I will get the ends on the way soon and build my cables. 

[Dan Mortensen]

Those look like the ones that are meant for pre-terminated cables> I don't like having to use them.

True. I only use pre-terminated that I've tested, 'cause I don't trust my own terminations at that level of needed precision. I'm fine making XLRs and such but RJ45s are aggravating. That's why I have a CAT tester (two, actually).

[Kevin Maxwell]

True. I only use pre-terminated that I've tested, 'cause I don't trust my own terminations at that level of needed precision. I'm fine making XLRs and such but RJ45s are aggravating. That's why I have a CAT tester (two, actually).

I can understand what you are saying and you need to do what works for you.

I have a lot of experience with this kind of work so I always prefer to terminate my own connections. I trust my own work more then I trust a pre-made cable assembly. I have been surprised at some of the work I have seen in cable assemblies that I have had to rework/fix.

[Brian Jojade]

I can understand what you are saying and you need to do what works for you.

I have a lot of experience with this kind of work so I always prefer to terminate my own connections. I trust my own work more then I trust a pre-made cable assembly. I have been surprised at some of the work I have seen in cable assemblies that I have had to rework/fix.

If you have experience terminating RJ45's, it's not difficult. One key is having the right components AND the right tools for the connectors you are using.  They are not all the same, and crimpers aren't completely universal!

But, if you've not done this before, or don't do it often, then buying pre-terminated is probably a more reliable choice.  I've seen a few bad pre-made cables, but I've seen WAY more poorly made terminations by people that thought they could easily do it but can't.

[Chrysander 'C.R.' Young]

Thanks again, everyone.  The new-to-me S16 arrived today and is in good working order.  Got it and my SD8 updated to latest firmware and all is good.  I have decided I am going to mount the S16 in the rack with the X32R.  This lets me run 32 channels from the rack without a board at FOH or use it as a stage box for the M32C.  Can also use the X32R as a dedicated monitor/iem mixer and use the M32C at FOH.  The SD8 will be unracked and used as a drum/drop snake as needed.  Never hurts to have options.  I have a show in March where I only need around 6 inputs, so that may turn into the X32C at FOH and the little SD8 on stage connecting the artists. 

Now, as soon as my credit card gets replaced, I will order the cable ends I need.  It seems my card took a trip to Alabama and tried to order about $2,400 in car parts.  Problem is that I am in Florida and did not order any car parts in Alabama.... 

[Kevin Maxwell]

Just the other day I put EtherCon shells on a premade shielded cat5 cable using the Neutrik NE8MX-B. I had the cable lying around and the EtherCon shells and the cable had the tab already broken off on one end. The premade cable had the rubber strain relief molded on it. I had to trim (cut) that away to make the EtherCon fit. Does Neutrik make an EtherCon shell that is made to be used with a premade cable that has the rubber molded strain relief on it?

[Brian Jojade]

The SD8 will be unracked and used as a drum/drop snake as needed.  Never hurts to have options.  I have a show in March where I only need around 6 inputs, so that may turn into the X32C at FOH and the little SD8 on stage connecting the artists. 

I thought I’d use the sd8 as a drum snake too.  Reality turned out it was faster and easier just to drop an analog snake for that purpose.  No real advantage of using the digital box, and one more piece of gear to troubleshoot that is now ON stage where I don’t want to be during a performance!

For small shows though, yeah it’s great to not need the full rack.

[Dan Mortensen]

Just the other day I put EtherCon shells on a premade shielded cat5 cable using the Neutrik NE8MX-B. I had the cable lying around and the EtherCon shells and the cable had the tab already broken off on one end. The premade cable had the rubber strain relief molded on it. I had to trim (cut) that away to make the EtherCon fit. Does Neutrik make an EtherCon shell that is made to be used with a premade cable that has the rubber molded strain relief on it?

Yes, I routinely cut that stuff on remade cables away for those Ethercon shells I linked. You have to.

No, I am not aware of a shell that lets the molded bits stay in place, and I don't think it would be possible to leave the molded bits around the sides of the RJ45 in place as that would dictate a much larger diameter shell that would have to be multiple diameters in order to still fit in the panel mounts. And you'd still have to cut away the back part unless the shell was WAY longer.

That said, there are many Neutrik products I am apparently unaware of.

[Russell Ault]

{...} and crimpers aren't completely universal! {...}

This is the biggest reason I keep flogging the self-terminating options: the cost of an NE8MX6 looks high, until you realize that all of the 8P8C connectors on the current official compatibility list require their own proprietary crimp tool that costs several hundred dollars. (Frustratingly, there used to be at least one connector on the list that could be crimped with a WE/SS crimp tool, but it was only available in the UK and was removed from the list a few years ago without explanation.)

{...} Does Neutrik make an EtherCon shell that is made to be used with a premade cable that has the rubber molded strain relief on it?

No, but it's important to note that, officially, the etherCON shells for pre-assembled cables have the same (very short) 8P8C compatibility list as the non-pre-assembled ones, and I don't believe any of the connectors on the list have boots.

-Russ

[Steve Eudaly]

I believe you are speaking of the NE8MX6 (or NE8MX6-T for beefier smaller cable jackets). I also just recently discovered this part and plan on trying it to re-terminate some installed snakes that are misbehaving with AES50.

Just left the aforementioned venue where we had three cat lines running through the air, all using CBI "Ultimate Cat5e" (CAT5E-ULT). Two lines had the more standard Ethercon shells over RJ45 heads, one was just RJ45. One of the lines with Ethercon quit working with a AES50 a few years back, some folks tried to re-terminate a couple of times (presumably using incompatible RJ45 heads) with no success.

I picked up some NE8MX6 and redid both ends of the faulty ethercon line and replaced the ends on the RJ45 line as well. Accidentally sliced the ground wire when stripping the jacket on one and it came apart when screwing the connector together. Didn't realize that at the time but it did not work in testing. Had to re-do that one, which is luckilly possible with the NE8MX6, you can lift the punch-down blocks off the little board with a small screwdriver to get the lines out and re-install.

Moral of the story is all three lines now work with AES50.

[ProSoundWeb Community]